Orphan ram in trouble! (EMERGENCY!!)

[littlelambx3]

I rescued an orphan ram on Wednesday 3/20. He is an Icelandic 7-8 day old male. He is pretty light in weight and on the small side, I am guessing a runt. His eyes are clear, his mouth and gums look fine, and he is still the complete sweetheart that he normally is. He was only 2 days old when I got him and was very weak. He was found outside under a tree, weak and sick looking, and his previous owner called me asking if I wanted him. Of course I said yes, and got him that day.

He was fine the first 2 days, he was almost perfect! He took his bottle amazing, without any issue or trouble at all and ate on a schedule. He was playful and had plenty of energy. He is currently in my house, due to being so little and needing to be bottle fed, and also the freezing cold Ohio climate. He loves attention and is all around such a sweetheart! He was going to the bathroom perfectly, his poop and pee looked just the way it should. Then things changed.

On Saturday (3/23), I noticed he was not hungry as much. He would turn the bottle away and then lay down. But then at other times, he took it immediately and ate a decent amount. He was not as playful and slept throughout most of the day.

Fast forward to Sunday night (3/24-3/25), around 1:00am. I wake up to him screaming his head off, so I think he is just hungry. I made his bottle, and then when I got to him, he was covered in watery green diarrhea. He had normally a yellow paste like poop, and then to this. I knew that it could be a serious issue, so I got him fluids (watered down formula)and gave him some medicine to calm down the diarrhea. It worked and he slept the remaining of the night.
Now it is Monday, and he has diarrhea again! He is also turning down his bottle. I was notified just a few minutes ago he did NOT get his first drink from his mom and has not had any colostrum, and no one told me this until now. I have an idea of what I should do, but want to hear other opinions on this situation.
He is in great living condition, and is cleaned after every time he uses the bathroom. I make sure his butt is completely washed after each poop. He is kept in a very clean area, and is checked on and cleaned often. His mouth/gums look fine, and I don't see any sores or anything. His eyelids look a bit pale, and when I pinched his skin to see if he was dehydrated he in fact IS.

I am feeding him MannaPro Lamb Milk Replacer. He is fed 6 times a day, between 2-4 hours, depending on if he takes the bottle. I am following the directions as they say, but did water down the formula last night because I thought maybe it was too rich for his stomach to take.


I plan on getting him colostrum mix and some electrolytes (I was thinking Pedialyte or even a home made remedy, if you have any please suggest!)

Please, if you have ANY thoughts, feel free to post. I really don't want to lose this little boy! Any advice is needed and appreciated, thanks so much!

 

[BrownSheep]

I would skip the colostrum at this point it won't do him much good, but it can't hurt either. Most definitely get him some pedialyte.

How much are you feeding him per feeding....six times a day seems a bit much to me but really depends on quantity.

 

[littlelambx3]

I knew that at this point the colostrum would not do much, but I guess I am just am going into panic mode and want to try whatever I can to save this little boy.

I am feeding him 6 times a day due to the fact he barely drinks his bottle. Whenever he does eat well, maybe out of the 6 times it's 2 or 3 actual GOOD feedings. He seems to be more so not wanting to eat than to eat. I thought I was over feeding him myself, until I realized that he was not getting the amount he needed. It's between 2-4 ounces per feeding, but I know he is not getting near 4 at all.

 

[BrownSheep]

We've had luck with Peptobismo ( there are others who disagree with peptobismo usage) , electrolytes, and yogurt.
Peptobismo helps slow the diarrhea, electrolytes keep them hydrated, and the yogurt help put the proper probiotics back in their bellies.

I'll see if I can find the directions I used.

 

[littlelambx3]

I just got him to take a bottle and he ate a good amount! But he kept coughing and rasping after the feeding. Almost as if he were choking..

I gave him Pepto last night and early this morning. The diarrhea is gone as of right now. He seems a bit restless, and wobbles whenever he stands up. The room he is in is nice and toasty, and he is not shaking or anything. He seems a bit lifeless in a sense...

 

[littlelambx3]

Also, thanks Brownsheep! Appreciate your advice.

 

[SheepGirl]

What's his temp?

I would give him a couple pumps of Nutri Drench and see if that gives him any energy.

 

[boykin2010]

Try giving him smaller amounts of milk at a time. Like feed 1-2 ounces take the bottle away and then count to 20 seconds. Then give another 1-2 ounces and count to 20. Repeat this until the bottle is gone. I have found that bottle lambs tend to drink milk way to fast and the natural way would be to take a couple sips then the mother will kick them off. Naturally raised lambs dont drink that much milk at once. Also, make sure he is up and playing with other lambs (or goats, or whatever else is available)

You may try putting some probiotics in the water also - wont hurt

 

[littlelambx3]

UPDATE 3/26/13

My little boy is not doing well. I got him fluids, both pedialyte and Nutri-Drench. He still takes his bottle though and wants to eat. He has no temp. He has barely any energy and just wants to sleep. He had awful diarrhea again but I got it to stop. His eyelids are really white, so I'm guessing he is anemic. His nose is a bit cold but my room is super warm. I even had a heater next to him and he was still shaking? I don't know what else to do.

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I wrote this in the thread in the sheep section because I didn't notice this one yesterday.

I would take a fecal to the vet ASAP. Lambs are super susceptible to all sorts of things, especially things like coccidia, which can kill so fast. Does he have a fever? Have you given him some probios?

Personally I don't like feeding lamb replacer either and haven't had good luck with it. Lots of scouring babies. Goat milk is great if you know someone with goats who might share. I've also used a formula where you take a gallon of whole milk and pour out 3.5 cups (save it for later), add to the jug 2 cups of buttermilk, a can of evaporated milk and then top it off with heavy cream. Be sure to shake well before using. It was kind of a pain to prepare and I much prefer to use goat milk now but my lamb thrived on it at the time. Even plain whole cows milk is better than most replacers in my experience.

I would just give him electrolytes for a while and see if that clears up the scours. If so than its the formula causing the issue. Definitely take a fecal to the vet though! Cocci can do permanent damage even if you catch it in time to save the lamb.